Chi Zhiqiang (池志强): CCP party member, long-time leader at Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, involved in nuclear and defense-related biomedical research. In 1999, Chi visited the United States, gave lectures, and met with Loh at the University of Minnesota, where Loh was department chair.
Chi Zhiqiang is a distinguished Chinese pharmacologist and senior scientist with a long career at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He previously served as Deputy Director of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Branch of CAS, and held roles in international scientific bodies, including as an executive committee member of the International Narcotics Research Conference. He also served in civic leadership positions, including Standing Committee Member of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Political Consultative Conference and Director of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission.
Chi joined the Chinese Communist Party in January 1949 and participated in underground intelligence work during the final months of the Republic of China, providing strategic reports that assisted the CCP in taking control of Hangzhou. He graduated top of his class from the inaugural cohort of Zhejiang University’s pharmacy program in 1949. In 1953, he formally joined the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, CAS, marking the start of his lifelong research career.
From the late 1950s, Chi led specialized national defense research programs on protection against acute radiation injury, establishing and heading the Fifth Research Group (later Fifth Laboratory). His team developed highly effective radioprotective drugs such as “1759” and later completed the 6003 Project, which received national scientific recognition.
Beyond defense-related work, Chi’s group pioneered strong analgesics and neuroreceptor research. Over seven years, they developed Oxyfentanyl, an opioid with 6,300 times the analgesic potency of morphine and 26 times that of fentanyl, notable for its low toxicity, low addiction potential, and stability. This breakthrough gained global attention and was later applied in counterterrorism and military research.
Chi also initiated domestic research on opioid receptors and high-selectivity ligands, strategically moving applied discoveries into theoretical and foundational studies, establishing a bridge between innovation and fundamental pharmacology. He was recognized with multiple awards, including the Second-Class National Defense Science and Technology Achievement Award and the Dedication to National Defense Science and Technology Honor Medal.
In consequence, Chi Zhiqiang’s research is associated with two categories that the United States classifies as weapons of mass destruction: nuclear and narcotic agents.
Nuclear-related military research – Through the Fifth Research Group at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, he led the development of radioprotective drugs (“1759” and the 6003 Project) that were part of Communist China’s nuclear defense programs. These are tied to nuclear warfare preparedness, which the U.S. treats as WMD-related.
Powerful synthetic opioids – His team developed Oxyfentanyl, an extremely potent opioid used in high-intensity analgesia and military research, including counterterrorism applications. The U.S. classifies certain high-potency chemical opioids as chemical weapons under WMD policy when militarized or used as incapacitating agents.
The logic is straightforward:
Nuclear weapons research isn’t just about building bombs; it also involves testing and handling highly radioactive materials. Anyone participating in those experiments or tests is exposed to radiation.
Without effective radioprotective drugs or emergency treatments, scientists and technicians face extremely high personal risk, including acute radiation sickness or death.
Developing drugs that mitigate radiation damage is therefore a necessary enabler for a nuclear program — it protects personnel so experiments and tests can be conducted safely enough to allow progress.
In this sense, research on radiation-protective drugs, like the work led by Zhiqiang Chi’s team, is directly linked to the feasibility of Communist China’s nuclear weapons program, even if it doesn’t involve designing the bombs themselves.
So while many outsiders see “pharmaceutical research” and “nuclear weapons” as unrelated, in reality, one supports the other. Without such protective measures, the CCP’s scientists might not have dared to conduct the experiments needed to build nuclear arms.
